Contact details

About

Richard is a vertebrate palaeontologist whose research focuses on the systematics, evolution and biogeography of late Palaeozoic to Mesozoic reptiles. He is particularly interested in the origin and dramatic evolutionary radiation of dinosaurs and closely related fossil groups in the aftermath of the Permo-Triassic mass extinction, the largest extinction event in the history of life on Earth. Another major research focus addresses the patterns and drivers of vertebrate diversity and body size over extended geological timescales.

2011. Palaeontological Association Hodson Award (annual award to a palaeontologist under the age of 35 who has made a notable early contribution to the science) 2005. Society of Vertebrate Paleontology Predoctoral Fellowship (annual award intended to promote a professional career in vertebrate palaeontology)

Teaching

Richard contributes to teaching in the Geology, Geology and Geography, and Palaeobiology and Palaeoenvironments programmes.

Module lead for ESCM 431, Advanced Projects

Contributor to ESCM319, Evolution of Vertebrates

Contributor to Field Skills 1 and 2

Supervise BSc/MSci major projects/advanced projects

Postgraduate supervision

Pedro Godoy – Tracking changes in the ecological diversity of Crocodyliformes through deep geological time

Ellen Mears (University of Edinburgh) – The origin and early evolution of crocodylomorphs

Martin Ezcurra – Systematics and evolutionary history of proterosuchian archosauriforms

Roland Sookias – Euparkeriidae and the early evolutionary radiation of archosauriforms

Richard has supervised or co-supervised Master’s theses in Birmingham, Munich, Cambridge, London and Bristol, with several students going on to PhDs and publishing their Master’s results in journals including Proceedings of the Royal Society B and Biology Letters. Potential doctoral researchers interested in projects relating to Mesozoic vertebrate evolution and/or deep time diversity patterns should contact him via email.

2015–2020. ERC Starting Grant: "TERRA. 375 Million Years of the Diversification of Life on Land: Shifting the Paradigm?" (Principal Investigator) 2014-2018. Marie Curie Career Integration Grant: "The early Mesozoic rise of archosaurs: New insights into an exemplar evolutionary radiation" (Principal Investigator) 2011-2014. German Research Foundation (DFG) Emmy Noether Programme: “Dawn of the dinosaurs: Archosauromorph evolution in the terrestrial Triassic” (Principal Investigator) 2010-2011. German Research Foundation (DFG) Research Grant: “Terrestrial vertebrates from near the Triassic-Jurassic boundary in Portugal: Excavation, geological context, and faunal change” (Principal Investigator) 2008-2009. NERC Small Grant: “Origin of the avian respiratory system: A CT-study of postcranial pneumaticity in basal archosaurs” (Researcher Co-Investigator)

Richard has also received additional small grant funding (each < £5000) from the Royal Society, Synthesys, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Jurassic Foundation, Palaeontological Association, Systematics Association, and the Percy Sladen Memorial Fund, among others.

Publications

In press

81. Butler RJ, Ezcurra MD, Montefeltro FC, Samathi A, Sobral G. In press. A new species of basal rhynchosaur (Diapsida: Archosauromorpha) from the early Middle Triassic of South Africa, and the early evolution of Rhynchosauria. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.

79. Brusatte SL, Butler RJ, Mateus O, Steyer JS. A new species of Metoposaurus from the Late Triassic of Portugal and comments on the systematics and biogeography of metoposaurid temnospondyls. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.

78. Ezcurra MD, Butler RJ. In press. Taxonomy of the proterosuchid archosauriforms (Diapsida: Archosauromorpha) from the earliest Triassic of South Africa, and implications for the early archosauriform radiation. Palaeontology.

77. Upchurch P, Andres B, Butler RJ, Barrett PM. In press. An analysis of pterosaurian biogeography: implications for the evolutionary history and fossil record quality of the first flying vertebrates. Historical Biology.

48. Foth C, Brusatte SL, Butler RJ. 2012. Do different disparity proxies converge on a common signal? Insights from the cranial morphometrics and evolutionary history of Pterosauria (Diapsida: Archosauria). Journal of Evolutionary Biology25: 904–915.

33. Barrett PM, Butler RJ, Nesbitt SJ. 2011. The roles of herbivory and omnivory in early dinosaur evolution. Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh101: 383–396.

19. Butler RJ, Sullivan RM. 2009. The phylogenetic position of the ornithischian dinosaur Stenopelix valdensis from the Lower Cretaceous of Germany: implications for the early fossil record of Pachycephalosauria. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica54: 21–34.

7. Butler RJ, Smith RMH, Norman DB. 2007. A primitive ornithischian dinosaur from the Late Triassic of South Africa, and the early evolution and diversification of Ornithischia. Proceedings of the Royal Society B274: 2041–2046.

3. Butler RJ, Porro LB, Heckert AB. 2006. A supposed heterodontosaurid tooth from the Rhaetian of Switzerland and a reassessment of the European Late Triassic record of Ornithischia (Dinosauria). Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Monatshefte10: 613–633.